In a Tuesday afternoon conference call with Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA1), the congressman revealed that just this afternoon, the Waxman-Markey Cap-and-Trade Tax Bill was pulled from consideration by the Energy Subcommittee. It will be referred to the full Energy and Commerce Committee.

This move comes after three weeks of Subcommittee hearings on the bill. According to Rep. Scalise, Chairman Waxman (D-Beverly Hills) met with key subcomittee Democrats with President Obama at the White House. The bill has been encountering significant resistance from energy state Dems due to the high penalties it would impose on fossil fuels, with few remedies for those states where alternatives cannot be readily developed.

Because of Waxman’s concern that the bill would not be favorably reported out of the Subcommittee, Rep. Waxman will apparently try his luck with the full Committee. It is not at all clear that it will receive a warmer reception there.

Rep. Scalise sees this as a victory, for the time being, for opponents of Cap-and-Trade. It will be important to keep up the vocal pressure on Congress to expose the bill as, effectively, a $3,000 per year energy tax on the average American household that it is.